Hi Ryler. I never remove flowers from my zucchini or cucumber plants, especially since the first flowers are usually male flowers to ensure there is ample pollen around to fertilize the female flowers that appear a few days later. Yes, it will continue to grow, but do not trim off any of the flowers.

P. S. I live right along the equator so there are never any cold temperatures (below 70* F).

It sounds like inconsistent soil moisture may be to blame. You said you water the plants every day, so my guess is that you’re just applying a small amount of water each time. It’s much better to give a thorough, deep soaking once every three or four days than to water a little bit every day. Depending on how large your pots are (they should be a minimum of 5 gallons for each zucchini plant), that means adding 3 to 4 gallons of water each time you water, letting the excess drain out the bottom of the pot. Soak them very good, but do it less frequently.

I do the same for powdery mildew, and it works like a charm. 1:3 ratio of whole milk to water, spray generously, and presto!

The stamens naturally look very “stumpy” and distorted. Their pollen is very sticky, not fluffy like the pollen of some other plants. You can’t see the individual grains, so there is likely lots of pollen there. Peel the petals off the male flowers and use just the bare stamen as a “paintbrush” and roll it around inside the female flowers in the morning.

It will be safe to eat but will likely not taste very good. The squash family is prone to making natural hybrids if their pollination isn’t controlled. It will likely be woody and probably bitter.

Sounds like it could be tomato fruit worms. They bore into the fruits and leave little holes and a sticky excrement behind. To deter them, you can cover the young developing fruits with a nylon stocking or spray them with Bt.

Cucumber beetle chewing around the leaf margins can cause browning like that but so can stress due to lack of water or heat. Be sure to water the plants deeply once or twice a week. Keep them well mulched (I like to use shredded leaves). Flip the leaves over and make sure there are no tiny squash bug nymphs there as they can cause similar browning.

Be sure to cut the zucchini off the plant carefully so you don’t tear into the stem tissue. Never rip the fruits off the plant. If the stem tears, the plant will shrivel pretty quickly. Otherwise, I would suspect a vine borer.